RYE, N.Y. – Junior goaltender William Billequey (Montreal, Quebec/Vermont Lumberjacks (EHL)) turned in another strong outing with 38 saves, but despite the resilient effort, the Manhattanville University men's hockey team dropped a 3–0 decision to No. 10/11 Utica on Saturday afternoon, closing out their conference opening weekend.
The Valiants came out strong in the opening period, generating early offensive pressure with looks from Mitchell Watson (Calgary, Alberta, Canada/Canmore Eagles (AJHL)), Parker Chadwell (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Bay Juniors (USPHL)), Brandon Paluszak (Powell, Ohio/Gilmour Academy), and Justin Fernet (Sherbrooke, Quebec/Taft School), but Utica's goalie Kyle Curtin turned aside every chance. Billequey kept Manhattanville within striking distance throughout the period.
Utica capitalized first at 5:12 of the opening period and carried a 1–0 lead despite multiple shot attempts to capitalize on the lead blocked by Tristan D'Elia (West Chester, Pa./Philadelphia Little Flyers (EHL)) and Emil Grinsvall (Gothenburg, Sweden/Maja Beskow). The Valiants held pressure throughout the first period with additional close shots by Tyler Rolston (Newport, Pa./P.A.L Jr. Islanders (NCDC)), Beau Depencier (Dresden, Ontario, Canada/LKCS), and Paluszak going into the first down just one.
The second period saw Manhattanville generate some of its best looks of the night, recording 12 shots. Utica struck early once more only three minutes into the period. Rolston, Paluszak, Watson, Grinsvall, Caden Eaton (Indian River, Mich./Cornwall Colts (CCHL)), Lucas Baskay, Corey Popowcer (Parkland, Fla./Vermont Lumberjacks (EHL)), and Parker Chadwell (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Bay Juniors (USPHL)), each recorded quality attempts to Manhattanville's second period tally. While the Valiants won a number of key face offs in the offensive zone through Jack Roberts (Middlefield, CT/Lyman Hall) and Ryan McKenna (Spokane, Wash./Sheridan Hawks (NA3HL)).
Utica managed to slip past the goal line again to bring their lead to 3-0 with just under four minutes left in the second period. Billequey stood tall once again, stopping a penalty shot at 17:34 to halt Utica's momentum. However, the Pioneers added two goals in the period despite Manhattanville's heavy shot-blocking presence on the defensive side.
In the third, Manhattanville pushed hard to break through, firing multiple attempts from Johno Hoins (Telluride, Colo./The Frederick Gunn School / Notre Dame Hounds (SJHL)) and Popowcer as the Valiants out-worked Utica for long stretches. The power-play units generated sustained pressure, but Curtin continued to shut the door on the Valiants for the Pioneers. Billequey delivered one of his strongest periods of the night, turning away a barrage of Utica opportunities to keep the score to just three.
Billequey finished as Manhattanville's top performer, recording a season-best workload with a highlight of 38 stops across all three periods. Offensively, Chadwell, Paluszak, and Popowcer led the Valiants in shot generation, while Vassos, Fernet, Choueiri, and McKenna anchored the defensive side with key blocks.
Up Next:
Manhattanville returns to action at the Ice Casino on Tuesday December 2nd as they host Trinity College at 6 PM
